1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to apparatus for extracting breast milk, and more particularly, to an apparatus for securing suction devices to a nursing mother's breasts.
2. Description of Related Art
For many years, new mothers have elected to breast-feed their babies. Over the last decade, there has been a trend of more mothers selecting this feeding method. A growing number of employers are offering support to working mothers who continue to breast-feed their babies after returning from maternity leave. An integral part of the support offered by these companies is the opportunity for the women to extract breast milk while at work, either in the employee's office or in a special room or facility set aside for this purpose.
Mothers who wish to extract breast milk for later use by their infants have several options. Some mothers use electric, battery or manual breast pumps manufactured by companies such as Medela, Inc. Typically, a breast pump has a suction device that is secured to the nipple(s) of the mother's breast(s). Tubes connect to the suction device and to the breast pump, which creates a suction on the breast(s) to extract the breast milk. The suction device must be secured continuously and firmly to the breast(s) during the extraction procedure.
A mother may also use the breast pump and attachments to extract breast milk from both breasts simultaneously. A nursing mother may not wear any clothing on her upper body during the milk extraction procedure. Alternatively, if she is wearing a nursing brassiere, the mother may lower or remove the shield or flap portion of the nursing brassiere to expose the nipple(s) of her breast(s). Thereafter, she places the suction devices connected to the breast pump over the nipple(s) of her breast(s) and manually holds the suction devices firmly thereto throughout the procedure.
Various garments are available to assist new mothers in extracting breast milk using a breast pump. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,514,166 (the "'166 Patent") describes a nursing brassiere. Various attachments, such as slings, buttons, etc. are added to the nursing brassiere to hold the breast shields of the nursing brassiere in place against the mother's nipples.
The inventor distinguishes between a breast shield and a suction device. As used herein, breast shield refers to a fabric flap manufactured as part of, or permanently secured to, a nursing brassiere. Alternatively, a breast shield may be removably secured to the nursing brassiere. The breast shield may be lowered or removed to expose the breast for breast-feeding a baby or for milk extraction using mechanical means such as a breast pump. Breast shield may also refer to a removable, fabric pad placed inside the nursing brassiere that may help prevent milk leakage from the mother's breasts before and/or after the milk extraction procedure. These removable breast shields are usually disposed of on a routine basis after use. Breast shields are relatively inexpensive to purchase. During use, a breast shield lies over, or rests upon, a significant portion of the breast.
In contrast, a suction device is a removable, non-fabric apparatus that is used only during mechanical milk extraction, rather than during breast-feeding of a baby. The suction device includes various components, such as a milk intake component, various cylinders and caps. A suction device is not connected to a nursing brassiere, either temporarily or permanently. The milk intake component of the suction device is secured firmly and tightly to a nursing mother's nipples. The milk intake component covers a limited portion of the mother's breast, specifically the nipples and surrounding area. The other components of the suction device, such as the cylinders and caps are integrally connected to the milk intake component and have no physical contact with the mother's breasts.
While prior art garments may be suitable for some mothers, they have certain disadvantages. For example, breast milk extraction using a breast pump can be extremely time-consuming, e.g., thirty minutes per session. This is particularly common if the mother is using a breast pump that is limited to extracting milk from one breast at a time. Moreover, newborn babies often need to be fed eight to twelve times per day. Therefore, new mothers must extract breast milk many times a day in order to have an adequate supply of milk for their growing infants and to relieve the pressure in the mothers' breasts caused by a build-up of milk.
In addition, a mother must physically hold or otherwise secure the suction device to her breast(s). She may use one hand to hold the suction device in place and have one available hand if the breast pump uses only one suction device. However, it is difficult to do many tasks with only one hand. If a mother is using a breast pump with two suction devices, she is able to extract the breast milk twice as fast, but neither hand is available during the extraction procedure. As a result, the mother is effectively prevented from conducting any other activity during every milk extraction session. Depending on the number of times per day that a mother extracts milk, she may spend several hours each day connected to the suction devices of a breast pump and be unable to do anything else.
This is a major disadvantage for mothers who wish to extract breast milk from both breasts while simultaneously undertaking other activities, such as reading, writing, placing or receiving telephone calls, eating, etc. Moreover, working mothers who continue to extract breast milk for their babies are completely prevented from undertaking work activities several times per day. It is unrealistic to expect that working mothers will continue to follow a milk extraction regime if the mothers must spend one to two hours per day in this activity and very little can be accomplished during that time, not even a telephone call.
Often, breast pumps and their attachments do not provide adequate coverage to the breast area during the milk extraction procedure. Mothers, particularly those who work, are sometimes interrupted while extracting breast milk. Both the mother and the interrupting person may be embarrassed by the exposure of the mother's chest area.
Another disadvantage of the prior art apparatus is the cost. A mother typically uses a breast pump and related attachments for a short period of time, e.g. six to twelve months. Many of the breast pump aids, including garments such as nursing brassieres, are rather expensive. The purchase price of these devices may be prohibitive considering the relatively short time period during which a mother will be extracting milk from her breasts.
The apparatus of the '166 Patent also has numerous disadvantages. For example, the device uses numerous complicated attachments to hold the breast pump attachments to each breast. Specifically, the apparatus of the '166 Patent requires fasteners to be added to the suction devices and/or the nursing brassiere, or a harness-type strap arrangement for holding the breast shields against the breasts. The '166 Patent also discloses flaps to be attached to the nursing brassiere. However, the flaps permanently alter the nursing brassiere, so that it may no longer be suitable for breast-feeding.
Thus, there is a need for an apparatus for securing suction devices to a nursing mother's breasts that overcomes the disadvantages of prior art apparatus.